State Senator Bill Haine (D-Alton) passed a measure through the Senate Executive Committee on Tuesday that would amend the Illinois Constitution to prevent revenues from the state’s road fund from being used for any purpose unrelated to transportation.

HJRCA 36, which passed the House in April, was originally filed in House by Representative Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg). Senator Haine is the chief Senate sponsor.

“This measure will ensure that Illinois’ infrastructure will continue to be up to date and usable for generations to come,” Haine said. “A solid infrastructure is essential to any pro-growth agenda to push Illinois’ economy forward. Things like highways, railroads and bridges are quite literally what allows us to move goods and people to conduct commerce and allow for the continued economic advancement of Illinois.”

The measure ensures that any motor fuel tax revenues would only be used for transportation-related purposes. It also would prevent a governor from sweeping the funds and allocating them for other use.

Senator Gary Forby (D-Benton), who is the added chief co-sponsor in the Senate, noted that this legislation is important help to secure jobs related to infrastructure throughout Southern Illinois.

“This measure is of great importance to Southern Illinois,” said Forby. “First, it is ridiculous that we would use transportation-related fees for anything other than the improvement of our infrastructure. This bill fixes that issue. Secondly, when we are improving our roads we are creating jobs for the people who work on our infrastructure.”

The measure passed the Senate Executive Committee on Tuesday and will now go to the Senate floor for consideration.